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Flexible mechanical metamaterials

Nature Reviews Materials volume 2, Article number: 17066 (2017) Cite this article

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Abstract

Mechanical metamaterials exhibit properties and functionalities that cannot be realized in conventional materials. Originally, the field focused on achieving unusual (zero or negative) values for familiar mechanical parameters, such as density, Poisson's ratio or compressibility, but more recently, new classes of metamaterials — including shape-morphing, topological and nonlinear metamaterials — have emerged. These materials exhibit exotic functionalities, such as pattern and shape transformations in response to mechanical forces, unidirectional guiding of motion and waves, and reprogrammable stiffness or dissipation. In this Review, we identify the design principles leading to these properties and discuss, in particular, linear and mechanism-based metamaterials (such as origami-based and kirigami-based metamaterials), metamaterials harnessing instabilities and frustration, and topological metamaterials. We conclude by outlining future challenges for the design, creation and conceptualization of advanced mechanical metamaterials.

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Figure 1: Building blocks of mechanical metamaterials.
Figure 2: Mechanism-based metamaterials.
Figure 3: Origami-inspired metamaterials.
Figure 4: Mechanism-based, shape-morphing metamaterials.
Figure 5: Instability-based metamaterials.
Figure 6: Frustration and tunable metamaterials.
Figure 7: Prototypes of topological mechanical metamaterials.

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Acknowledgements

J.C. acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC) through the Starting Grant No. 714577 PHONOMETA and from the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO) through a Ramon y Cajal grant (Grant No. RYC-2015-17156). M.vH. acknowledges funding from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research through Grant VICI No. NWO-680-47-609. V.V. acknowledges support from the University of Chicago Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, which is funded by the National Science Foundation through Grant No. DMR-1420709.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, Massachusetts, USA

    Katia Bertoldi

  2. Instituut-Lorentz, Universiteit Leiden, Postbus 9506, Leiden, 2300 RA, The Netherlands

    Vincenzo Vitelli

  3. James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, Illinois, USA

    Vincenzo Vitelli

  4. Instituto Gregorio Millán Barbany, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Avenida de la Universidad 30, Leganés (Madrid), 28916, Spain

    Johan Christensen

  5. AMOLF, Science Park 104, Amsterdam, 1098 XG, The Netherlands

    Martin van Hecke

  6. Huygens-Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratories, Universiteit Leiden, Postbus 9504, Leiden, 2300 RA, The Netherlands

    Martin van Hecke

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All authors contributed equally to the preparation of this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Johan Christensen.

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Bertoldi, K., Vitelli, V., Christensen, J. et al. Flexible mechanical metamaterials. Nat Rev Mater 2, 17066 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/natrevmats.2017.66

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